Quebec Legal Historiography, 1760-1900
Transcription
Quebec Legal Historiography, 1760-1900
Quebec Legal Historiography, 1760-1900 Vince Masciotra* Introduction With the recent multiplication of scholarly works on the history of Quebec law, the need arises to survey what has been achieved to date.' This article therefore proposes to provide a relatively extensive bibliography of Quebec legal historiography and to highlight noteworthy attempts at a his2 torical understanding of Quebec law. The discussion focuses on studies dealing with aspects of Quebec law in the period from the British Conquest of 1760 to 1900. This historical period witnessed fundamental transformations in Quebec society - the transition to a capitalist economy - and in Quebec law - the codification of civil law and procedure and the reception of English criminal law. Recent studies of law in New France, especially those treating criminal and seigniorial law, are included on the basis of their comparative and methodological importance. Representative literature from elsewhere in North *Ofthe Montreal Business History Project, McGill University. I wish to thank Brian Young and G. Blaine Baker for their editorial advice at various stages of the production of this survey. The initial bibliographic research was done in 1985 and was funded by the SSHRC and the Osgoode Society. A first version of this survey was written as a preparatory draft of part of the introduction to G.B. Baker et al., Sources in the Law Library of McGill University for a Reconstructionof the Legal Culture ofQuebec, 1760-1890 (Montreal: Faculty of Law and Montreal Business History Project, McGill University, 1987). 'Useful bibliographies of this material include A. Morel, CanadafranCais(Bruxelles: Institut de sociologie, 1963); PD. Maddaugh, A Bibliographyof CanadianLegal History (Toronto: York University Law Library, 1972); H.W. Arthurs & B.D. Bucknall, Bibliographieson the Legal Professionsand Legal Education in Canada(Toronto: York University Law Library, 1968). 2 Discussions of Canadian legal historiography include R.C.B. Risk, "A Prospectus for Canadian Legal History" (1973) 1 Dalhousie L.. 227; G. Parker, "The Masochism of the Legal Historian" (1974) 24 U.T.L.J. 279; D.H. Flaherty, "Writing Canadian Legal History: An Introduction" in D.H. Flaherty, ed., Essays in the History of Canadian Law, vol. 1 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981) 3; A. Morel, "Canadian Legal History - Retrospect and Prospect" (1983) 21 Osgoode Hall L.J. 159; D. Hay, Book Review of Essays in the History of CanadianLaw (1983) 64 Can. Hist. Rev. 583;D. Kettler, "The Question of'Legal Conservatism' in Canada: A Review of Essays in the History of CanadianLaw, vol. 1" (August 1983) 18 J. Can. Stud. 136; D. Kettler, Book Review of Essays in the History of Canadian Law, vol. 2 (December 1984) 19 J. Can. Stud. 150; D.G. Bell, "The Birth of Canadian Legal History" (1984) 33 U.N.B.L.J. 312; B. Wright, "Towards a New Canadian Legal History" (1984) 22 Osgoode Hall L.J. 349; B. Young, "Law 'in the round' (1986) 11 Acadiensis 155. 1987] QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY America and Western Europe is listed in the notes. 3 To facilitate the discussion, the literature surveyed has been classified under broad areas of the law. These classifications reflect a mixture of elements commonly understood to comprise the law (judicial structures, constitutional and administrative law, private law and criminal law) and material society (family, economy, sexual divisions and the State). Because of the jurisdictional boundaries of Quebec's legal system, this survey will also include works dealing with the functioning and application of pan-Canadian law within Quebec. I. Constitution and Government The history of the various constitutions of the British North American colony which became the Province of Quebec and the doctrinal interpretation of constitutional law have been a traditional concern of Canadian legal scholars. Formal analysis (which focuses on structures and procedures at the expense of contextual examinations of the functioning of these structures) and whiggish reasoning (which focuses on progress and treats reform as a series of improvements) characterize this field of research. Notable examples are the work of such political scientists as James Mallory and Robert Dawson. 4 More recently, constitutionalists have begun to take account of the political context of the establishment of constitutions, but legal formalism still dominates the analysis of judicial interpretation of consti3 Surveys of modem American and English legal historiography include R.W. Gordon, "Critical Legal Histories" (1984) 36 Stan. L. Rev. 57; D. Sugarman & G.R. Rubin, "Towards a New History of Law and Material Society in England, 1750-1914" in D. Sugarman & G.R. Rubin, eds, Law, Economy andSociety, 1750-1914: Essays in the History of English Law (Abingdon, U.K.: Professional Books, 1984) 1; S.N. Katz, "The Problem of a Colonial Legal History" in J.R Green & J.R. Pole, eds, Colonial British America: Essays in the New History of the Early Modern Era (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1984) 457. Collections of English Canadian legal historiography include L. Knafla, ed., Law andJustice in a New Land: Essays in Western CanadianLegalHistory (Calgary: Carswell, 1986); D.G. Bell, Manners,Moralsand Mayhem: A Look at the First 200 Years of Law and Society in New Brunswick (Fredericton, N.B.: Public Legal Information Services, 1985); R Waite, S. Oxner & T. Barnes, eds, Law in a ColonialSociety: The Nova Scotia Experience (Toronto: Carswell, 1984); D.H. Flaherty, ed., Essays in the History of CanadianLaw, vols 1, 2 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 198183). 4 See J.R. Mallory, The Structure of Canadian Government, rev'd ed. (Toronto: Gage, 1984); R.M. Dawson, The Government of Canada,5th ed., rev'd by N. Ward (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970). The "reception" of English laws from a constitutional point of view is considered in J.E. Cot6, "The Reception of English Law" (1977) 15 Alta L. Rev. 29; E.G. Brown, "British Statutes in the Emergent Nations of North America: 1606-1949" (1963) 7 Am. J. Legal Hist. 95. 714 McGILL LA4W JOURNAL [Vol. 32 tutional law. 5 A few historians, notably Hilda Neatby, Alfred Burt, Pierre Tousignant and Fernand Ouellet, have looked at the origins of the various constitutional statutes, mainly from a historical and political point of view. They have focused on colonial policy and conflicts opposing various interest groups in England and the colony.6 Tousignant's study of The Constitutional Act of 1791,7 for example, challenged the view often advanced by earlier historians that British authorities "generously" gave political rights to Canadians. He argued that the British wanted a colonial government broadly based on the English model, but one in which power would be retained by England through the Governor-General. Another aspect of constitutional history is the role of judicial review by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Supreme Court of Canada.8 One modern critic of the scholarship of judicial review, Patrick 5G.R6millard, Lefed~ralismecanadien,2d ed., vols 1,2 (Montreal: Qu6bec/Amdrique, 1983), which includes an excellent bibliography. For a critique of the doctrinal interpretation of Canadian federalism, see P.J. Monahan, "A Doctrine's Twilight: The Structure of Canadian Federalism" (1984) 34 U.T.L.J. 47. 6 H.M. Neatby, The Quebec Act: Protest andPolicy (Scarborough, Ont.: Prentice-Hall, 1972); by the same author, Quebec: The Revolutionary Age, 1760-1791 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1966); A.L. Burt, The Old Province of Quebec (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1933); P. Tousignant, "Ptoblfmatique pour une nouvelle approche de la constitution de 1791" (1973) 27 Rev. d'hist. de l'Amfrique frangaise 181; E Ouellet, Le Bas-Canada, 1791-1840: Changements structurauxet crise (Ottawa: Universit6 d'Ottawa, 1976). See also G. Bernier & D. Sal6e, "Social Relations and Exercise of State Power in Lower Canada (1791-1840): Elements for an Analysis" [Spring 1987] Studies in Political Economy 101; G.EG. Stanley, A Short History of the CanadianConstitution (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1969). A good comparative study is J.M. Ward, Colonial Self.Government: The British Experience, 1759-1856 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1976). On Confederation, see J.C. Bonenfant, La naissancede la con ederation (Montreal: Lem~ac, 1969); PB.Waite, The Life and Times of Confederation1864-1867: Politics, Newspapers and the Union of British North America (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962); W.L. Morton, The Critical Years: The Union of BritishNorth America, 1857-1873 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1964). See also A.I. Silver, The French-CanadianIdea of Confederation, 1864-1900 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982). 7 (U.K.), 31 Geo. 3, c. 31. 8 0n the Supreme Court, see EH. Underhill, "Edward Blake, the Supreme Court Act, and the Appeal to the Privy Council, 1875-76" (1938) 19 Can. Hist. Rev. 245; E MacKinnon, "The Establishment of the Supreme Court of Canada" (1946) 27 Can. Hist. Rev. 258; E Vaughan, "Civil Code Influences on the Supreme Court of Canada, 1875-1980: Particularly in Contract and Negligence" (1986) 20 L. Soc. Gaz. 48; PH. Russell, The Supreme Court of Canadaas a Bilingual and Bicultural Institution (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1969); J.G. Snell & F Vaughan, The Supreme Court of Canada:History ofthe Institution (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985). On the Privy Council, see PA. Howell, The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, 1833-1876: Its Origins,Structure and Development (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979); R. Stevens, "The Final Appeal: Reform of the House of Lords and Privy Council, 18671876" (1964) 80 Law Q. Rev. 343; FM.Greenwood, "Lord Watson, Institutional Self-Interest and the Decentralization of Canadian Federalism in the 1890s" (1974) 9 U.B.C. L. Rev. 244; S. Wexler, "The Urge to Idealize: Viscount Haldane and the Constitution of Canada" (1984) 29 McGill L.J. 608. On judicial review, see J. Smith, "The Origins of Judicial Review in Canada" (1983) 16 Can. J. Pol. Sci. 115, which reviews the literature. 19871 QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY Monahan, concludes that "Canadian constitutional law and theory lingers at the dusk of legal formalism." 9 Monahan notes that whereas legal formalism has been criticized by Canadian scholars for a number of years, it still predominates analyses ofjudicial review. For -Monahan,constitutional law and interpretation must be seen as a political discourse, which can be analyzed in terms of the political and intellectual climate of the times in which it was produced. Significant advances in this field of research could be modeled after the investigations conducted by John Pocock, with a view to producing more sophisticated analyses of the history of intellectual interpretations of constitutional statutes. 10 Another approach would be to probe more deeply into the political and social repercussions of specific constitutional statutes and decisions. More recently, several Quebec scholars initiated research into the nineteenth-century legal foundations of urban and local governmental and administrative structures.I' In a review of some of this work, Jean-Guy Belley notes that analyses of the elite discourse surrounding the enactment of legislation have been produced at the expense of a "sociologie historique de l'ttat qub6bcois" which would investigate the local consequences of those laws. 12 In his work on the first parliamentary institutions in Lower Canada, between 1791 and 1838, Henri Brun looks at the dynamic interaction between the various levels of colonial government and examines the actual operation of formal structures.13 His dominant theme is the struggle of the local Francophone elite for increased political rights. Another area of State 9 See Monahan, supra,note 5 at 47. He discusses judicial review at pp. 51-69. 10 See J.G.A. Pocock, The Ancient Constitution and the Feudal Law: A Study of English HistoricalThought in the Seventeenth Century (New York: Norton, 1967). See also Monahan, ibid. An example of an intellectual history approach applied to a case in Quebec that reached the Supreme Court is R. Knopff, "Quebec's 'Holy War' as 'Regime' Politics: Reflections on the Guibord Case" (1979) 12 Can. J. Pol. Sci. 315. riSee, e.g., J. I'Heureux, "Les premieres institutions municipales au Qubec ou 'machines A taxer' (1979) 20 C. de D. 331; J. LUveill~e & M.-O. Tr6panier, "Evolution de la legislation relative Al'espace urbain au Qu6bec" (1981-82) 16 R.J.T. 19; A. Tremblay & D. Turp, "L'incidence des politiques urbaines sur l'exercice des comp6tences fed6rales et provinciales en mati~re de gouvernement local" (1981-82) 16 R.J.T. 281; J.I. Little, "Colonization and Municipal Reform in Canada East" (1981) 14 Soc. Hist. 93; L.J. Ste Croix, The First Incorporation of the City of Montreal, 1826-36 (M.A. Thesis, McGill University, 1971) [unpublished]. ' 2"Du juridique et du politique en sociologie de droit: Akpropos de la recherche 'Droit et soci6t6 urbaine au Qu6bec" (1982-83) 17 R.J.T. 445. 13H. Brun, La formation des institutionsparlementairesquebecoises, 1791-1838 (Quebec: Presses de l'Universit6 Laval, 1970). On the politics of the period, see Ouellet, supra, note 6; H.T. Manning, The Revolt of French Canada, 1800-35: A Chapterin the History of the British Commonwealth (Toronto: Macmillan, 1962). REVUE DE DROIT DE McGILL [Vol. 32 organization which legal historians are beginning to study is the school system. 14 J.E. Hodgetts and James Gow have published administrative histories of the bureaucratic structures of the United Canadas and the province of Quebec, but still to be investigated are the particular roles of the law and lawyers in administrative processes.' 5 II. The Civil Law System In view of the unique legal-political processes which led to the amalgamation of French, English and American sources, and to the codification of Quebec's private law, it is not surprising that several legal educators have, beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, combined a historical presentation with the usual doctrinal approach to legal scholarship. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, a few French-Canadian law teachers, most notably Edmond Lareau, published general historical texts on the provincial legal system.16 These works emphasized legislation and depended heavily on quotations from documentary sources. This approach continues at the law schools of Universit6 Laval and Universit6 de Montreal in the '4See, e.g., P.Carignan, "La place faite AIa religion dans les 6coles publiques par la loi scolaire de 1841" (1982-83) 17 R.J.T. 9. An older work is 0. Gagnon, CulturalDevelopments in the Province of Quebec: Minorities'Rights and Privilegesunder the EducationalSystem (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1952). See also L.-P Audet, Histoire du Conseil de l'instruction publique de la province de Quebec, 1856-1964 (Montr6al: Lem6ac, 1964); L.-P. Audet, Histoire de l'enseignementau Quebec (Montr6al: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971). 15 See J.I. Gow, Histoirede l'administrationpubliquequeb~coise1867-1970 (Montr6al: Presses de l'Universit6 de Montreal, 1986); J.E. Hodgetts, Pioneer Public Service: An Administrative History of the United Canadas, 1841-1867 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1956). See also G. Paquet & J.-P. Wallot, Patronageet pouvoirpolitiquedans le Bas-Canada(1794-1812): Un essai d'conomie historique (Montr6al: Presses de l'Universit6 du Qu6bec, 1973); Bernier & Sale, supra, note 6. ' 6B.A.T. de Montigny, Histoire de droit canadien (Montr6al: E. S6ncal, 1869); G. Doutre & E. Lareau, Le droit civil canadien suivant l'ordre etabli par les codes, precede d'une histoire gntralede droit canadien (Montr6al: A. Doutre, 1872); E. Lareau, Histoiredu droit canadien depuis les origines de la coloniejusqua nos jours, vols 1, 2 (Montr6al: A. P6riard, 1888-89); R. Lemieux, Les origines du droitfranco-canadien(Montr6al: C. Thforet, 1901). For a biographical article of Lareau, see S. Gagnon, "Lareau, Edmond" in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 11 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982) 488. See also ER Walton, The Scope and Interpretationof the Civil Code of Lower Canada [1907] (Toronto: Butterworths, 1980); W.J. White, The Sources and Development of the Law of the Province of Quebec (Montreal: Gazette, 1903). Articles on late nineteenth-century legal scholarship in Quebec and Ontario include S. Normand, "Une analyse quantitative de Ia doctrine en droit civil qu6b6cois" (1982) 23 C. de D. 1009; G.B. Baker, "The Reconstitution of Upper Canadian Legal Thought in the Late-Victorian Empire" (1985) 3 Law and Hist. Rev. 219. See also A. Morel, supra,note 2. 1987] QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY historical introductions to Quebec law which the faculties prepare for their classes. 17 The work of several historians, especially Hilda Neatby and Evelyn Kolish, who have investigated the establishment and evolution of the civil law system since 1763, stands on a different methodological footing.18 Much of their work stresses conflicts between interest groups and attempts by specific groups to reform both substantive law and the court system. Prominent in this regard, for example, were the perennial battles initiated by merchants to obtain the application of British private law in Quebec. Evelyn Kolish attempts to interpret the attitudes and reactions of Canadians to changes in the civil law of Quebec/Lower Canada between 1760 and 1840. She examines the administration of civil justice, the judiciary and the magistracy, and such facets of substantive civil law as bankruptcy, inheritance, land tenure regimes and the registration of hypothecs. She finds that the opinions ,of contemporaries reflected primarily their ethnic background, though sometimes they were modified by class or economic interests. The explanation offered for this ethnic conflict over private law is that Anglophone and Francophone groups alike saw the law as a powerful instrument of their socio-ethnic goals, including economic pursuits, political and institutional power, and ethnic survival. 17See, e.g., J.C. Bonenfant, H. Brun & C. Vachon, Histoiredes institutionsjuridiques(textes): Histoire du droit priv (Qu6bec: Facult6 de droit, Universit6 Laval, 1969); A. Morel, Histoire du droit, 6th ed. (Montreal: Librairie de l'Universit6 de Montreal, 1980-81). 18H.M. Neatby, The Administration of Justice under the Quebec Act (London: Oxford University Press, 1937), which, though concerned primarily with the administration of justice, gives ample consideration to disputes surrounding points of substantive law; E. Kolish, Changement dans le droit priv6 au Qu6bec et au Bas-Canada, entre 1760 et 1840: Attitudes et r6actions des contemporains (Doctoral dissertation in legal history, Universit6 de Montr6al, 1980) [unpublished]. See also Neatby, supra, note 6; A.L. Burt, supra, note 6. These are general texts which give substantial consideration to legal matters. See also, on the same and later periods, W.R. Riddell, "The First British Courts in Canada" (1923-24) 33 Yale L.J. 571; W. Smith, "The Struggle over the Laws of Canada, 1763-1783" (1920) 1 Can. Hist. Rev. 166; EH. Soward, "The Struggle over the Laws of Canada, 1783-1791" (1924) 5 Can. Hist. Rev. 314; L. Pelland, "Aperqu historique de notre organisation judiciaire depuis 1760" (1933-34) 12 R. du D. 14; A. Morel, "Les r6actions des Canadiens devant l'administration de Ia justice de 1764 it 1774: Une forme de r6sistance passive" (1960) 20 R. du B. 53; J.-P Wallot, "Plaintes contre l'administration de la justice (1807)" (1966) 19 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am6rique franqaise 551, (1970) 20 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am6rique franqaise 28, 281, and 366; J. UHeureux, "L'organisation judiciaire au Qu6bec de 1764 A 1774" (1970) 1 R.G.D. 266; L. Renaud, "La Cour d'appel i l'aube de l'Union (1839-49)" (1973) 8 R.J.T. 465. See also J.-M. Fecteau, "Prolgom~nes i une 6tude historique des rapports entre I'ttat et le droit dans la soci6t6 qu6b6coise, de la fin du XVIIIe si6cle A la crise de 1929" (1986) 18 Sociologies et socidt6s 129. McGILL LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 32 The daily workings of some civil courts, especially those active during the French regime, have been the subject of quantitative analyses.19 It is to be hoped that the recent reorganization of the archives of the Judicial District of Montreal, which contain the records of the Sessions of the Peace and the Court of King's Bench, will enable and encourage scholars to undertake similar research on the civil courts of the British regime. The work and role of court officers has been neglected, though a recent study by Pierre Audet on the offices of clerk of the court and prothonotary demonstrates the importance of these functionaries. 20 Several fundamental legal concepts relevant to the civil justice system, including the responsibility of judges, the injunction remedy and the authority of precedents in appellate courts, 21 have been examined recently, but typically from a formal perspective. The greatest institutional achievement in Quebec civil law, the Civil Code of Lower Canada (1866), has been a central concern of legal scholars since its enactment. Research into the chronology of the establishment and reform of the Civil Code, and into its doctrinal sources, has recently been combined with more traditional studies of the internal coherence of the body of law that was codified. Significant contributions to research in this field include a detailed study of the work of the codification commission by John Brierley, an examination by Marian Karpacz of appellate decisions 19A valuable study is J.A. Dickinson, Justice et justiciables:La procdure civile a la PrvO de Quebec, 1667-1759 (Quebec: Presses de l'Universit6 Laval, 1982). A small-scale work on rural civil courts is S. Normand, "Justice civile et communaut6 rurale au Qu6bec, 1880-1920" (1984) 25 C. de D. 579. Each of these studies attempts to determine how representative the justiciables were of society at large. For an enlightening epistemological discussion of this approach, see J.-G. Belley, "Vers une sociologie historique de la justice qu6bdcoise: R6flexion en marge d'un ouvrage recent sur la justice civile sous le regime frangais" (1983) 24 C. de D. 409. Other studies of the courts of New France include A. Morel, "L'imposition et le contrOle des peines au Bailliage de Montrbal (1666-1693)" in Etudes juridiques en hommage diM. le jugeBernardBissonnette(Montr6al:Presses de 'Universit6 de Montreal, 1963) 411; J. Mathieu, "Les causes devant la Pr~v6t6 de Qu6bec en 1667" (1969) 3 Soc. Hist. 101; J.R. Thompson, "An Evaluation of Judicial Fees in Cases brought before the Sovereign Council, 1663-1690" (1969) 3 Revue du centre d'6tudes de Qu6bec 9; J.A. Dickinson, "La justice seigneuriale en Nouvelle-France: Le cas de Notre-Dame-des-Anges" (1974) 28 Rev. d'hist. de l'Amfrique frangaise 323; and, by the same author, "Court Costs in France and New France in the Eighteenth Century" [1977] Can. Hist. Assoc. Hist. Papers 49. A valuable introduction to the society of New France and the place of law within it is Louise Dechene, Habitants et marchands de Montreal au XVIIe siecle (Montr6al: Plon, 1974). 20 Les officiers de justice: Des origines de la colonie jusqu dinos jours (Montreal: Wilson et Lafleur, 1986). 21 See N. Bernier, "1'autorit de prfcdentjudiciaire Ala Cour d'appel du Quebec" (1971) 6 R.J.T. 535; A. Prujiner, "Origines historiques de l'injonction en droit qubEcois" (1979) 20 C. de D. 249; H.P Glenn, "La responsabilit6 des juges" (1983) 28 McGill LJ. 228. 1987] QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY as a source of law for the codifiers, and the 1981 historical and critical edition of the Civil Code.22 In a study of public opinion in the period leading up to codification and the period following the Civil Code's enactment, Andr6 Morel found surprisingly little public debate on the matter.23 Historical treatment of the 1867 Code of Civil Procedurehas been neglected, but a monographic study by Jean-Marie Brisson of the evolution of civil procedure in Quebec from 1774 to codification is now available. 24 A broader historical perspective which would place the adoption of both codes in the context of state-building at the time of Confederation has yet to be attempted. II1. Criminal Justice The quality and scope of legal-historical research in criminal justice surpasses that on other aspects of Quebec law. This state of affairs is probably related to the greater availability of criminal records, especially for the French regime, and, more importantly, to the example provided by a number of social historians who have been concerned for some time with how criminal justice and the penal system have conditioned relations between social classes. 25 22 J.E.C. Brierley, "Quebec's Civil Law Codification Viewed and Reviewed" (1968) 14 McGill L.J. 521; M. Karpacz, "La Cour d'appel et la redaction du Code civil" (1971) 6 R.J.T. 513; P.A. Cr6peau &J.E.C. Brierley, eds, Codecivil, 1866-1980:Editionhistoriqueetcritique(Montr6al: Socit6 qu~brcoise d'information juridique, 1981). See also J.W. Cairns, The 1808 Digest of Orleans and 1866 Civil Code of Lower Canada: An historical study of Legal Change, vols 1, 2 (Doctoral dissertation in legal history, University of Edinburgh, 1981) [unpublished]; J.P. Richert & E.S. Richert, "The Impact of the-Civil Code of Louisiana upon the Civil Code of Quebec of 1866" (1973) 8 R.J.T. 501. 23 "La codification devant l'opinion publique de l'6poque" in J. Boucher & A. Morel, eds, Le droit dans la viefamiliale, vol. 1, Livre du centenaire du droit civil (Montreal: Presses de l'Universit6 de Montral, 1970) 27. 24 See J.-M. Brisson, La formation d'un droit mixte: L' olution de la procedurecivile de 1774 et 1867 (Montreal: Th6mis, 1986). 25 For comparative studies, see D. Hay, "Crime and Justice in Eighteenth and NineteenthCentury England" in Morris & Tonry, eds, Crimeand Justice: An Annual Review of Research (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980) 45; D. Hay, "The Criminal Prosecution in England and its Historians" (1984) 47 Mod. L. Rev. 1; R. Lane, "Crime and the Industrial Revolution: British and American Views" (1974) 7 J. Soc. Hist. 287; and M. Ignatieff, "State, Civil Society and Total Institution: A Critique of Recent Social Histories of Punishment" in D. Sugarman, ed., Legality, Ideology and the State (London: Academic Press, 1983) 183. Influential monographs include D. Hay et al., Albion's Fatal Tree: Crime and Society in Eighteenth-Century England (London: Penguin Books, 1975); E.P. Thompson, Whigs and Hunters: The Origin of the Black Act (Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin Books, 1977); M. Ignatieff, A Just Measure of Pain: The Penitentiaryin the IndustrialRevolution, 1750-1850 (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978); M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison,trans. A. Sheridan (New York: Vintage Books, 1979); D. Melossi & M. Davarini, The Prison and the Factory: Origins of the PenitentiarySystem (London: Macmillan, 1981). Information about Canadian research REVUE DE DROIT DE McGILL [Vol. 32 The study of the origins of various Canadian criminal statutes has been a favoured activity of legal historians. 26 Most ofthe scholarship on Canadian criminal legislation from 1760 to 1900 emphasizes the legislators' lack of originality and their supposed dependence on English models. 27 However, the work of other historians identifies significant differences between the Canadian and English criminal justice systems. For example, Douglas Hay points out that, unlike the British law of the nineteenth-century, Canadian criminal law of that time permitted the Crown to appeal acquittals by lower courts. Similarly, whereas private prosecution was prevalent in Great Britain, it was of limited relevance to Canadian residents. 28 Legal historians disagree over the extent to which the Criminal Code of 1892 modified 29 Canadian criminal law. Important articles on the insanity defence and its judicial interpretation have been published by Simon Verdun-Jones. This work is significant for its willingness to analyze the law within the context of broader social ideo- can be obtained by consulting J.G. Woods, "Criminal Justice History in Canada: A Brief Survey of Work in Progress" (1983) 4 Crim. Just. Hist. 119, which includes researchers, their addresses and their topics of research; L.A. Knafla, "Crime, Criminal Law and Justice in Canadian History: A Select Bibliography, Origins to 1940" in D.J. Bercuson & L.A. Knafla, eds, Law and Society in Canada in Historical Perspective (Calgary: University of Calgary Studies in History, 1979) 157; K.L. Mayer, Canadian CriminologyAnnotated Bibliography: Crime and the Administrationof CriminalJustice in Canada(Ottawa: Solicitor General of Canada, 1977); and the bibliography in R.A. Silverman & J.J. Teevan, eds, Crime in CanadianSociety, 2d ed. (Toronto: Butterworths, 1980). 26 See, e.g., A.W. Mewett, "The Criminal Law, 1867-1967" (1967) 45 Can. B. Rev. 726; A. Morel, "La reception du droit criminel anglais au Qu6bec (1760-1892)" (1978) 13 R.J.T. 449; J.J. Edwards, "The Advent of English (Not French) Criminal Law and Procedure into Canada - A Close Call in 1774" (1984) 26 Crim. L.Q. 464; G. Parker, "The Origins of the Canadian Criminal Code" in Flaherty, ed., supra,note 1,249; R.C. MacLeod, "The Shaping of Canadian Criminal Law, 1892 to 1902" [1978] Can. Hist. Assoc. Hist. Papers 64; C. D6saulniers, "La peine de mort dans la 16gislation criminelle de 1760 a 1892" (1977) 8 R.G.D. 141; V.M. Del Buono, "The Right to Appeal in Indictable Cases; a Legislative History" (1978) 16 Alta L. Rev. 446. 27 See Parker, Mewett, Del Buono and D6saulniers, ibid. 28 Hay made these remarks in an address to the annual congress of the Institut d'histoire de l'Am6rique frangaise in October 1985, "Droit, Rtat et soci6t6 aux 1Be et 19e sixces" [unpublished]. See also his "Controlling the English Prosecutor" (1983) 21 Osgoode Hall L.J. 165. To compare with prosecution in Ontario, see P.M. Romney, Mr. Attorney: The Attorney General for Ontarioin Court, Cabinet, andLegislature1791-1899 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986). Two interesting discussions of the criminal justice system of Lower Canada are L.A. Knafla & T.L. Chapman, "Criminal Justice in Canada: A Comparative Study of the Maritimes and Lower Canada, 1760-1812" (1983) 21 Osgoode Hall L.J. 245; J.-M. Fecteau, La pauvret6, le crime, l'6tat: Essai sur l'conomie politique du contrble social au Qu6bec, 1791-1840 (Doctoral dissertation in history, Universit6 de Paris VII, 1983) [unpublished]. 29 See Parker, Mewett, and MacLeod, supra, note 26. 1987] QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY logies. 30 Constance Backhouse adopts a similar approach in her studies of such aspects of nineteenth-century criminal law affecting women as infanticide, abortion, rape and prostitution. 3' Significant research into the social meaning of criminal law has been attempted by Andr6 Morel and Douglas Hay.32 Morel investigates the attitudes of both the elite and lower classes towards criminal legislation from 1760 to 1892, and their reactions to the types of punishment meted out by criminal courts. To obtain a richer perspective on popular mentality, the legal historian needs to broaden his research to include such sources as court records which can provide direct evidence from the testimony of the lower classes. The analysis of the cultural products of the lower classes such as folk songs may also yield interesting results. Hay's article is more suggestive of popular attitudes towards criminal justice in the critical first years of the British regime. He also tries to identify the values of the elite which were internalized in the criminal law. Another significant contribution is Jean-Marie Fecteau's doctoral thesis which analyzes the discourse surrounding the adoption of criminal legislation between 33 1791 and 1840 as compared with similar debates in England. Andr6 Lachance has investigated criminal court records for part of the French regime. A similar systematic study of any period after the Conquest 3 °"The Evolution of the Defences of Insanity and Automatism in Canada from 1843 to 1979: A Saga of Judicial Reluctance to Sever the Umbilical Cord to the Mother Country?" (1979) 14 U.B.C. L. Rev. 1; and 'Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity': The Historical Roots of the Canadian Insanity Defence, 1843-1920" in L.A. Knafla, ed., Crime and CriminalJustice in Europe and Canada (Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1981) 179. See also M.L. Friedland, The Case of Valantine Shortis:A True Story of Crime and Politicsin Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986). 31 See "Nineteenth-Century Canadian Rape Law, 1800-92" in D.H. Flaherty, ed., Essays in the History of CanadianLaw, vol. 2, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983), 200; "Involuntary Motherhood: Abortion, Birth Control, and the Law in Nineteenth Century Canada" (1983) 3 Windsor Y.B. Access Just. 61; "Desperate Women and Compassionate Courts: Infanticide in Nineteenth-Century Canada" (1984) 34 U.T.L.J. 447; and "Nineteenth-Century Canadian Prostitution Law: Reflection of a Discriminating Society" (1986) 18 Soc. Hist. 387. 32 See Morel, supra, note 26; A. Morel, "Les crimes et les peines: tvolution des mentalit~s au Quebec an XIXe si6cle" (1978) 8 R.D.U.S. 384. Morel's methodological conservatism prevents him from gaining a better understanding of popular mentality towards criminal law, since his sources cannot tell him much about the lower classes' perceptions. See also D. Hay, "The Meanings of the Criminal Law in Quebec, 1764-74" in L.A. Knafla, supra,note 30, 77. Compare J.M. Beattie, Attitudes towards Crime and Punishment in Upper Canada,1830-1850: A Documentary Study (Toronto: Centre of Criminology, 1977). On the sources and methodological problems in the history of mentalities and ideologies, see G. Duby, "Histoire des mentalit~s" in C. Samaran, ed., L'histoire et ses mtthodes (Paris: Gallimard, 1961) 937; M. Vovelle, Ideologies et mentalitts (Paris: Masp~ro, 1982). 33 Supra, note 28. McGILL L4W JOURNAL [Vol. 32 has not yet been attempted. 34 Noteworthy analyses of criminal punishment have been undertaken by Jean-Marie Fecteau and Pierre Tremblay.35 Tremblay's method is statistically more sophisticated. He is chiefly concerned with the "amount" and "intensity" (or "average length") of imprisonment in Montreal between 1845 and 1913. Tremblay's findings suggest that the penal system may have been a homeostatic or self-regulating system, since the yearly "amount" of punishment over the period studied (the total number of hours of imprisonment imposed over all individuals), remained relatively constant, while the "intensity" of individual punishment did change at various times in that period. A complementary conjunctural investigation of the variations that occurred in the length of imprisonment at different times between 1845 and 1913 would probably yield interesting results. On the other hand, Fecteau situates the history of the criminal justice system in the broader context of social regulation in Lower Canada between 1791 and 1840. He analyzes the social background of the accused and the types of criminal charges and punishments. He finds that criminal offenders were not representative of Lower Canadian society (urban dwellers and people on the margins of economic production, such as soldiers, were overrepresented). Fecteau therefore hypothesizes that the criminal justice system played a minimal role within the logic of Lower Canadian social regulation, which was mainly based on relations of authority such as those involving seigneurs and the peasantry, merchants and clerks, and master craftsmen and indentured servants. The Lower Canadian state is said to have played a role complementary to that of pre-capitalist, socio-economic relations of authority. The coercive apparatuses of'the State, of which the criminal justice 34 A. Lachance, Lajustice criminelledu Roi au Canadaau XVIIIe si~cle: Tribunauxet officiers (Qudbec: Presses de I'Universit6 Laval, 1978); and Crimes et criminels en Nouvelle-France (Montral: Borral Express, 1984). Both of these works contain excellent bibliographies. Recent articles on the criminal law of the French regime include A. Morel, "Rrflexions sur la justice criminelle canadienne, au 18e sicle" (1975) 29 Rev. d'hist. de l'Amdrique franaise 241; A. Lachance, "Women and Crime in Canada in the Early Eighteenth Century, 1712-1759" in Knafla, supra,note 29, 157; J.-E Leclerc, "Justice et infra-justice en Nouvelle-France: Les voies de35fait i Montreal entre 1700 et 1760" (1985) 18(1) Criminologie 25. See J.-M. Fecteau, supra, note 27; J.-M. Fecteau, "R6gulation sociale et r6pression de la d6viance au Bas-Canada au tournant du 19e sircle (1791-1815)" (1985) 38 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am6rique frangaise 499; P Tremblay et G. Therriault, "La punition commune du crime: La prison et l'amende i Montr6al de 1845 i 1913" (1985) 18(1) Criminologie 43; P. Tremblay, "'I6volution de l'emprisonnement p6nitentiaire, de son intensit6, de sa fermet6 et de sa port~e: Le cas de Montreal de 1845 A 1913" (1986) 28 Can. J. Crim. 47. See also J.A. Edmison, "Some Aspects of Nineteenth-Century Canadian Prisons" in W.T. McGrath, ed., Crime and its Treatment in Canada,2d ed. (Toronto: Macmillan, 1976) 347; J.D. Borthwick, History ofthe MontrealPrisonfrom A.D. 1784 to A.D. 1886 (Montreal: A. Prriard, 1886); and, on the exceptional case of the confinement of the criminally insane, S.N. Verdun-Jones & R. Smandych, "Catch22 in the Nineteenth-Century: The Evolution of Therapeutic Confinement for the Criminally Insane in Canada, 1840-1900" (1981) 2 Crim. Just. Hist. 85. 1987] QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY system was a part, filled the gaps and dealt with the major crises in the social system. A subject that has yet to be researched by historians is the nineteenth36 century organization of Quebec's municipal and rural police systems. IV. Political Protest and Military Law With its weak police and criminal justice system, the military was an essential force for the "keeping of the peace" in Lower Canada. Despite the well-known use of military forces "as an aid to civil power" in nineteenth and twentieth-century Canada, the legal processes behind these interventions have not been a major concern of historians. A study of the British military garrison at Montreal between 1832 and 1854 by Elinor Kyte Senior, despite its apologetic tone, clearly shows the role of the garrison as a coercive apparatus upon which the imperial and colonial authorities depended to defend their authority against the rising power of the new local elite, which was backed by segments of the popular classes. 37 The evidence presented by Senior points to the vagueness of the military law which enabled the use of the military by the civil powers. The substitution of martial law for the civil administration of justice following the 1837 Rebellion is a recent in38 terest of legal historians. 36 But see J. Turmel, Policede Montrial,historiquedu service: Premieresstructureset &volution de la police de Montreal, 1796-1971, vols 1, 2 (Montreal: Service de la police de la C.U.M., 1971-74); C.D. Shearing, EJ. Lynch & C.J. Matthews, Policing in Canada: A Bibliography (Ottawa: Ministry of the Solicitor General of Canada, 1979). For comparative materials, see W.R. Miller, Cops and Bobbies:PoliceAuthority in New York andLondon, 1830-1870 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977); E.H. Monkkonen, Police in Urban America, 1860-1920 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981); J.J. Tobias, CrimeandPolicein England,17001900 (London: Gill & Macmillan, 1979). 37 E.K. Senior, British Regulars in Montreal: An Imperial Garrison, 1832-1854 (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1981), see especially parts I and II. See also R.A. McDonald, "The Trail of Discipline: The Historical Roots of Canadian Military Law" (1985) 1 J.A.G. Journal 1. See also D. Morton, "Aid to the Civil Power- The Canadian Militia in Support of Social Order, 1867-1914" (1970) 51 Can. Hist. Rev. 407; J.J.B. Pariseau, Disorders,Strikes and Disasters:Military Aid to the Civil Power in Canada, 1867-1933 (Ottawa, 1973). 38 See G. Rud6, Protest and Punishment: The Story of the Social and Political Protesters Transportedto Australia,1788-1868 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978); EM. Greenwood, "L'insurrection apprrhendre et l'administration de la justice au Canada: Le point de vue d'un historien" (1980) 34 Rev. d'hist. de 1'Amrrique frangaise 57; and, by the same author, "The Chartrand Murder Trial: Rebellion and Repression in Lower Canada, 1837-1839" (1984) 5 Crim. Just. Hist. 129. See also, on the repression of popular protest more generally, M.S. Cross, 'The Laws Are Like Cobwebs': Popular Resistance to Authority in Mid-Nineteenth Century British North America" in Waite, Oxner & Barnes, supra, note 3 at 103. For a comparative study, see G. Rud6, The Crowd in History: A Study of PopularDisturbances in Franceand England,1730-1848, rev'd ed., (London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1981); R.C. Cobb, The Police and the People: French PopularProtest, 1789-1820 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970), which contains an excellent discussion of the problems raised by the use of state (police) records in the study of the history of popular protests at 3-48. 724 REVUE DE DROIT DE McGILL [Vol. 32 V. The Legal Professions, the Judiciary and Legal Education Professional groups traditionally look back on their own history to reinforce their professional and social identity. The studies which result often take the form of biographies of "great legal men" (more rarely of women) or histories of institutions such as the Bar. This literature is characterized by hagiographical and anecdotal approaches. Although there are numerous biographies of individual judges, lawyers and notaries, there are no prosopographical biographies of these professional groups. 39 The social origins ofjudges could, for example, be probed in terms of class and ethnicity. The hypothesis that the selection of judges in the nineteenth century was a function of political patronage could also be tested. And the particular role ofjustices of the peace in Lower Canadian society, who sat on the lower courts and were responsible for local government before municipal structures were established, has yet to be investigated. A study of lawyers and notaries as distinct groups would permit the identification of the salient characteristics of the social classes from which these corporate professional entities emerged. Investigations ofthe daily activities of lawyers or notaries, and of the firms that they established, would also be valuable. 40 The study of notaries in particular is fundamental because the documents they produced mediated numerous economic relations (notably employ39 0n the methods of prosopography, see L. Stone, "Prosopography" in L. Stone, The Past and the Present (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981) 45. On the problems raised in this section generally, see the discussion in Sugarman & Rubin, supra,note 3 at 84ff. For collections of short biographies on Quebec judges, see I.J. Deslauriers, La Cour sup~rieuredu Quebec et ses juges: 1849- lerjanvier 1980 (Quebec: Deslauriers, 1980); E-J. Audet, Les juges en chef de la province de Quebec, 1764-1924 (Quebec: Action Sociale, 1927); P.-G. Roy, Les juges de la province de Quebec (Quebec: Redempti Paradis, 1933). Individual biographies include A.L. Burt, "The Tragedy of Chief Justice Livius" (1924) 5 Can. Hist. Rev. 196; H. Neatby, "Chief Justice William Smith: An Eighteenth-Century Whig Imperialist" (1947) 28 Can. Hist. Rev. 44; G. Malchelosse, "Les Blackstone" (1936) 1 Cahiers des dix 213; E-J. Audet, "Les Mondelet" (1938) 3 Cahiers des dix 191; J.-J. Lefebvre, "Sir Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine Bar't (1864), ses ascendants et ses alliances dans les professions du droit" (1964) 1 Proc. & Trans. Royal Soc'y Can. (4th) Section 1 69; D.R. Barry, "An Eminent Quebec Lawyer of the Last Century" (1912) 32 Can. L.T. 427; L. Hart, "Joseph-Frangois Perrault, 1753-1844 and Admissibility to the Bar" (1962) 8 McGill L.J. 270; B.J. Young, George-EtienneCartier:MontrealBourgeois (Kingston, Ont.: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1981); G. Parizeau, La vie studieuse et obstinee de Denis-Benjamin Viger (Montreal: Fides, 1980); L.ES. Upton, The Loyal Whig: William Smith of New York and Quebec (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1969). The Dictionary of Canadian Biography (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1966-1985), and G. Palmer, BiographicalSketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution (Westport, Conn.: Meckler, 1984), contain numerous biographies of Quebec judges, lawyers, notaries and legal educators. Also useful are older biographical dictionaries, such as G.M. Rose, A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography Being Chiefly Men of the Time (Toronto: Rose Publishing, 1886-88). 40 There is one law-firm history: D.H. Tees, Chroniclesof Ogilvy,Renault 1879-1979 (Montreal: Ogilvy, Montgomery, Renault, 1979). 1987] QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY ment, sale, credit and inheritance) and therefore provide a crucial source for a nuanced, micro-analytic view of the economy of the French regime and of the first century of the British regime. 41 Another possibility for useful research would be the study of the daily activities of attorneys, advocates, solicitors and barristers, in order to understand the functions comprehended by these different professional titles. Much of the work on the Bar and the notariatis now dated and needs revision in light of such contemporary concerns as the role professional associations played as centres of political recruitment. 42 Another aspect of Quebec legal history that has been neglected is legal education. 43 To date, writers on this subject have reminded their readers of the dates at which 41 0n the importance of notarial documents for the socio-economic history of Quebec, see R. Sweeny, Internal Dynamics and the International Cycle: Questions of the Transition in Montreal, 1821-1828 (Doctoral dissertation in history, McGill University, 1986) c. 3 [unpublished]; L. Lavall6e, "Les archives notariales et 'histoire sociale de Ia Nouvelle-France" (1974) 28 Rev. d'hist. de l'Amrique frangaise 385; G. Paquet & J.-P. Wallot, "Les inventaires aprbs d6c~s AMontreal au tournant du XIXe sicle; pr61iminaire i une analyse" (1976) 30 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am6rique franqaise 163; G. Bervin, "Les sources archivistiques: leur utilisation dans l'6tude de la bourgeoisie marchande bas-canadienne (1800-1830)" (1984) 38 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am6rique francaise 203; and Y.A. Morin, "La repr6sentativit6 de l'inventaire apr~s d6c~s - l'tude d'un cas:42 Qu6bec au d6but du XIXe sicle" (1981) 34 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am~rique frangaise 515. See J.-E. Roy, L'ancien barreauau Canada:Conference donn&e devant le barreaude Quebec en la salle de la Cour d'assises au mois def'evrier 1897 (Montral: C. Th~oret, 1897); A.W.G. MacAlister, The Bench and Bar of the Provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (Montreal: Lovell, 1907); A.W.P. Buchanan, The Bench and Bar of Lower Canada Down to 1850 (Montreal: Burton, 1925); E-J. Audet, "Les d6buts du barreau de la province de Qu6bec" (1937) 2 Cahiers des dix 207; E-J. Audet, "Le barreau et la r6volte de 1837" (1937) 31 Proc. & Trans. Royal Soc'y Can. (3d) Section I 85; M. Nantel, "Les avocats A Montreal" (1942) 7 Cahiers des dix 185; M. Nantel, "La communaut6 des avocats" (1945) 10 Cahiers des.dix 263; J. Boucher, ed., Le barreaudi 125 ans: Son pass, son avenir (Montral: Barreau du Qu6bec, 1974). On the notariat, see J.J. Lefebvre, "Les premiers notaires de Montr6al sous le r6gime anglais, 1760-1800" (1943) 45 R. du N. 293; J.-E. Roy, Histoiredu notariatau Canadadepuis lafondation de la coloniejusqu'at nos jours, vols 1-4 (lvis, Qu6.: Revue du notariat, 18991902); and A. Vachon, Histoiredu notariat canadien, 1621-1960 (Qu6bec: Presses de l'UnivLaval, 1962). ersit6 43 But see, M. Nantel, "U6tude du droit et le barreau" (1949) 14 Cahiers des dix 11; A. Morel, "Maximilien Bibaud, fondateurde l'Ecole de droit" (1951) 2Th6mis 9; G. Lahaise, "Centenaire de la premi~re 6cole de droit 6tablie au Canada, Coll~ge Sainte-Marie, 1851-67" (1951) 2 Th6mis 17; R. St J. Macdonald, "An Historical Introduction to the Teaching of International Law in Canada" (1974) 12 Can. Y.B. Int'l L. 67; L. Lortie, "The Early Teaching of Law in French Canada" (1975) 2 Dalhousie L.J. 521; E.-E Surveyer, "Une 6cole de droit A Montreal avant le Code civil" [1920] Revue Trimestrielle Canadienne 140; Y. Pratte, "The Faculty of Law at Laval University" (1965) 16 U.T.L.J. 175; J. H6tu, Album souvenir 1878-1978: Centenairede la Facult6de droit de l'Universitt de Montr~al (Montr6al: Yvon Blais, 1978); S.B. Frost, "The Early Days of Law Teaching at McGill" (1984) 9 Dalhousie L.J. 150; S.B. Frost, McGill University: For the Advancement of Learning,vol. 1 (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1980). Compare G.B. Baker, "Legal Education in Upper Canada 1785-1889: The Law Society as Educator" in Flaherty, ed., supra, note 31, 49. McGILL LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 32 various law schools opened. Is it necessary to point out that institutions like the Bar, the Notariatand law schools were at the center of the formation and cohesion of professional groups? Yet nearly nothing is known about the mechanisms of formation, selection and cohesion of the legal professions. VI. Law and Economic activity The persistence of a feudal land tenure regime in Quebec, the seigneurial system, and its co-existence with freehold tenure during the British regime has attracted the attention of historians and legal scholars. Debates among historians about the relative importance of the seigneurial system have developed because of a basic misunderstanding of seigneurial law. Adopting the social history approach of the Annales school, Louise Dechene has studied the seventeenth and eighteenth-century society and economy of the Island of Montreal. Dech~ne's work confronts seigneurial law with the actual practices of peasants and seigneurs in their social and economic relations. Her study of the interaction between legal norms and social practice leads to a better understanding of both elements of a unique reality and goes beyond earlier debates on seigneurial land tenure. 44 A recent study of the notion of property (urban and rural), and its transformation in the middle of the nineteenth century, is Brian Young's investigation of the Seminary of Montreal "as a business institution". 45 Young looks at the transformation, under the pressure of the emerging industrial bourgeoisie, of Lower Canada's largest seigneur into a capitalist proprietor. The law of property is shown to be a crucial element of this transition, and the changing definition of "property" within this evolving socio-economic context is demonstrated. 44The "Annales school" characterizes a group of French social and economic historians who conomies, Soci6t6s, Civilisations, and the particular contribute to the journal Annales methodologies employed by these historians. See Dech~ne, supra, note 19; and L. Dechene, "1'6volution du regime seigneurial au Canada: Le cas de Montreal aux XVIIe et XVIIIe si~cles" (1971) 12 Recherches sociographiques 143. See also R.C. Harris, The SeigneurialSystem in Early Canada:A GeographicalStudy, 2d ed. (Kingston, Ont.: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1984). 45B.j. Young, In its CorporateCapacity: The Seminary ofMontrealas a Business Institution, 1816-1876 (Kingston, Ont.: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1986), c. 3-4. See also, G.-E. Gigure, "Les biens de Saint-Sulpice et 'Attorney General Stuart's Opinion Respecting the Seminary of Montreal (10 Ddcembre 1828)' - essais critiques" (1970) 24 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am~rique frangaise 45. On the "abolition" of the seigneurial system, see E Ouellet, "'abolition du regime seigneurial et l'id6e de propri6t1" in .Dlmentsd'histoiresocialedu Bas-Canada (Montreal: Hurtubise H.M.H., 1972) 297; J.-P Wallot, "Le r6gime seigneurial et son abolition au Canada" in Un Quebec qui bougeait"Trame socio-politiquedu Quebec au tournant du XIXe sikcle (Trois-Rivires: Boreal Express, 1973) 225. QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY 1987] John Brierley has examined the evolution of the legal institution of freehold tenure, and Evelyn Kolish has analyzed public debates on the issue of land tenure systems.4 6 Other noteworthy studies by Robert Armstrong 47 and Pierre Paquette treat public and private property in natural resources. There are also works on trusts, nuisance law, patents and general property 48 rights. One aspect of property law which has attracted much attention is the law of successions. Andr6 Morel, in a longstanding study, combined a search for the historical evolution of inheritance law with a contemporary interest in law reform. Other historians have concentrated on inheritance practices in Quebec society. There seems to be a consensus that the adoption of elements of English succession law did not significantly affect popular practices among French-Canadians which, until the latter part of the nineteenth century, generally conformed to the rules on succession contained in the 49 Custom of Paris. 46 J.E.C. Brierley, "The Co-Existence of Legal Systems in Quebec: 'Free and Common Soccage' in Canada's 'pays de droit civil' " (1979) 20 C. de D. 277; Kolish, supra, note 18; P. Phillips, "Land Tenure and Economic Development: A Comparison of Upper and Lower Canada" (May 1974) 9 J. Can. Stud. 35; G.E McGuigan, Land Policy and Land Disposal under Tenure of Free and Common Soccage, Quebec and Lower Canada, 1763-1809 (Doctoral dissertation in legal history, Universit6 Laval, 1962) [unpublished]. On registration of hypothecs, see also E. Kolish, "Le Conseil lgislatifet les bureaux d'enregistrement (1836)" (1981) 35 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am~rique franiaise 217; J. Martineau, "Comparaison et efficacit6 des diverses formes de documents susceptibles d'enregistrement" (1979) 82 R. du N. 31. On bankruptcy, see also E. Kolish, "ILintroduction de la faillite au Bas-Canada: Conflit social ou national?" (1986) 40 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am~ique francaise 215. 47 See the valuable work of H.V. Nelles, The Politics of Development: Forests, Mines and Hydro-Electric Power in Ontario, 1849-1941 (Toronto: Macmillan, 1974). See also R. Armstrong, "Le d6veloppement des droits miniers au Quebec A la fin du XIXe sicle" (1983) 59 UActualit6 6conomique 576; P Paquette, L'extraction de mati~res premieres et la politique minire de l'ttat: Une analyse de leur 6volution et de leur contribution au d~veloppement 6conomique du Qu6bec, 1867-1975 (Doctoral dissertation in law, McGill University, 1982). 48 R. Demers, "From the Bubble Act to the Pre-Incorporation Trust: Investor Protection in Quebec Law" (1977) 18 C. de D. 335; M. Pourcelet, "I26volution de droit de propri~t6 depuis 1866" in J. Boucher & A. Morel, eds, Le droit dans la vie 6conomico-sociale, vol. 2, Livre du centenaire du Code civil (Montreal: Presses de l'Universit6 de Montreal, 1970) 3; T.R. Naylor, IndustrialDevelopment, vol. 2, The History of Canadian Business, 1867-1914 (Toronto: Lorimer, 1975) at 38ff.; J. Nedelsky, "Judicial Conservatism in an Age of Innovation: Comparative Perspectives on Canadian Nuisance Law 1880-1930" in Flaherty, supra, note 3, vol. 1, 281. 49 See A. Morel, Les limites de la libertt testamentairedans le droit civil de la Province de Quebec (Paris: L.G.D.J., 1960); by the same author, "Un exemple de contact entre deux syst~mes juridiques: Le droit successorial au Quebec" (1963) 4 Annales de l'Universit6 de Poitiers (n.s.) 1; and "l'apparition de la succession testamentaire: Rrflexions sur le rble de la jurisprudence au regard des codificateurs" (1966) 26 R. du B. 499. See also Kolish, supra, note 18 at 32238; and Y.E Zoltvany, "Esquisse de la Coutume de Paris" (1971) 25 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am~rique francaise 365. On inheritance practices, see C. Champagne, La pratique testamentaire A Montreal, 1777-1825 (Masters thesis in law, Universit6 de Montreal, 1972) [unpublished]; P. Des- 728 REVUE DE DROIT DE McGILL [Vol. 32 Company law and the laws defining financial instruments and institutions were intimately tied to the emerging role of the nineteenth-century State as an economic regulator. Yet the existing legal-historical literature emphasizes the nature of relevant legislation or the debates surrounding its adoption rather than the economic repercussions of such enactments. 50 Legal definitions of credit instruments in the early nineteenth century, for example, may have helped determine business decision-making processes in the selection of types of credit instruments. 5 1 Further research could test the extent to which legal rules contributed in shaping economic behaviour 52 and in legitimating opportunities for economic choices. jardins, "La Coutume de Paris et la transmission des terres - le rang de la Beauce A CalixaLavall6e de 1730 A1975" (1980) 34 Rev. d'hist. de l'Amrique frangaise 331; G. Bouchard, "Les syst~mes de transmissions des avoirs familiaux et le cycle de la soci~t&rurale au Quebec, du XVIIe au XXe sicle" (1983) 16 Soc. Hist. 35. On succession in Europe, see J.R. Goody, J. Thirsk & E.P. Thompson, eds, Family and Inheritance:Rural Society in Western Europe, 1200-1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976). 50 0n state regulation of the economy, see M. Priest and A. Wohl, "The Growth of Federal and Provincial Regulation of Economic Activity, 1867-1978" in W.T. Stanbury, ed., Government Regulation: Scope, Growth, Process (Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy, 1980) 69. A monographic study showing the interplay of state and economy is G.N. Tucker's The Canadian Commercial Revolution, 1845-1851 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1964). On partnerships, firms and corporations, see A.W. Currie, "The First Dominion Companies Act" (1962) 28 Can. J. Econ. & Pol. Sci. 387; G.E McGuigan, "The Emergence of the Unincorporated Company in Canada" (1964) 2 U.B.C.L. Rev. 31; Demers, supra, note 48; EE. Labrie & E.E. Palmer, "The Pre-Confederation History of Corporations in Canada" in J.S. Ziegel, ed., Studies in Canadian Company Law (Toronto: Butterworths, 1967) 33; and J. Smith & Y. Renaud, Droit qu bcois des corporationscommerciales (Montral: Judico, 1974) 5. 51An important discussion of early nineteenth-century credit instruments can be found in Sweeny, supra, note 41, c. 3, 5 and 6. See also G. Bervin, "Apergu sur le commerce et le credit A Quebec, 1820-30" (1983) 36 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am~rique frangaise 527 and G. Paquet & J.-P. Wallot, "Le syst~me financier bas-canadien au tournant du XIXe si~cle" (1983) 59 L'Actualit& 6conomique 456. For a useful general introduction, see E.E Neufeld's historical treatment of banks and other financial institutions in The FinancialSystem of Canada: lts Growth and Development (Toronto: Macmillan, 1972). Other works include: R.M. Breckenridge, The Canadian Banking System, 1817-1890 (New York: Macmillan, 1895); R.M. Breckenridge, The History of Banking in Canada (Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1910); R.C. McIvor, Canadian Monetary,Banking and FiscalDevelopment (Toronto: Macmillan, 1958); T. Naylor, The Banks and FinanceCapital,vol. 1, The History of Canadian Business 1867-1914 (Toronto: Lorimer, 1975); R. Rudin, Bankingenfrancais: The FrenchBanks of Quebec 1835-1925 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985); and E.P. Neufeld's collection, Money andBanking in Canada: HistoricalDocuments and Commentary (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1964). See Kolish's discussion of bankruptcy, supra,note 18 at 43-56, 519-33 and 624-38; and her "L'introduction de la faillite au Bas-Canada: Conflit Social ou National", supra,note 46. See also an interesting discussion of law and economy in Sugarman & Rubin, supra, note 3; R.C.B. Risk, "The Law and the Economy in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Ontario: A Perspective" in Flaherty, ed., supra, note 3, 88. 52 See Sugarman & Rubin, supra, note 3 at 9ff. 19871 QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY The legal history of labour in Quebec involves many aspects of the law: property (slavery), contract (hiring of labour power), and specific labour legislation (master and servant laws, the right to organize a trade union and the right to strike). Marcel Trdel's book on slavery discusses law only incidentally, as do works on artisanship and apprenticeship by Pierre Audet, David-Thiery Ruddel, Jean-Pierre Hardy and Mary Poutanen. These historians of artisanship have studied in great detail the clauses of hiring contracts (journeymen's and apprentices' indentures) but have dealt less thoroughly with legal questions. While inadequate attention has been paid to the emergence of the capitalist labour contract, some research has been conducted on workers' collective rights. John Dickinson's recent article on Quebec labour legislation at the turn of the twentieth century (1894-1914) is noteworthy for its analysis of the extent to which this legislation was useful to workers. Dickinson goes beyond the usual study of the origins of reports on working conditions that were legislation to analyse the inspectors' 53 mandated by the new legislation. VII. Women and the Law While feminism has directed attention towards the history of women and their present legal condition, there has been inadequate research on the historical roots of the present legal situation of Quebec women. Much of the work published is general and concentrates on legislation. There is no study of Quebec property law comparable to Lee Holcombe's research on 53 0n slavery and artisanship, see M. Trudel, L'esclavage au Canadafrancais: Histoire et conditions de l'esclavage (Qu6bec: Presses de rUniversit6 Laval, 1960); RH. Audet, Apprenticeship in Early Nineteenth-Century Montreal, 1790-1812 (Masters thesis in history, Concordia University, 1975); J.-P. Hardy & D.-T. Ruddel, Les apprentis artisans a Quebec, 1660-1815 (Montr6al: Presses de l'Universit6 du Qu6bec, 1977); M.A. Poutanen, For the Benefit of the Master: The Montreal Needle Trades During the Transition 1820-1842 (Masters thesis in history, McGill University, 1985); and PN.Moogk, "Apprenticeship Indentures: A Key to Artisan Life in New France" [1971] Can. Hist. Assoc. Hist. Papers 65. See also Sweeny, supra, note 41, c. 4. The important work by H.C. Pentland, Labour and Capitalin Canada 1650-1860 (Toronto: James Lorimer, 1981), does not examine labour law even though it is organized around the evolution of diverse labour regimes. On particular labour legislation, see J. de Bonville, Jean-BaptisteGagnepetit: Les travailleursmontrealaisd lafin du XIXe siecle (Montr6al: L'Aurore, 1975) 204-15; R. Tremblay, "Un aspect de la consolidation du pouvoir d'ttat de la bourgeoisie coloniale: La l6gislation anti-ouvri re dans le Bas-Canada, 1800-1850" (198182) 8-9 Labour 243; C. D'Aoust & E Delorme, "The Origin of the Freedom of Association and of the Right to Strike in Canada: An Historical Perspective" (1981) 36 Relations industrielles 894; M. Chartrand, "The First Canadian Trade Union Legislation: An Historical Perspective" (1984) 16 Ottawa L. Rev. 267; and J. Dickinson, "La l6gislation et les travailleurs qu6b6cois 1894-1914" (1986) 41 Relations industrielles 357. A study which examines the legal context of a pre-Confederation strike is R. Tremblay, "La gr6ve des ouvriers de la construction navale A Qu6bec (1840)" (1983) 37 Rev. d'hist. de l'Am6rique frangaise 227. McGILL LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 32 the nineteenth-century English property regime of married women.5 4 As in other areas of legal-historical research, the earliest studies have established chronological bench-marks for later detailed investigations of the legal condition of women.5 5 One exception is the important work by Constance Backhouse on nineteenth-century law regarding women. Her treatment of criminal laws affecting women has been noted above. She has also published studies dealing with such aspects of the civil law as marriage and custody. Her approach stresses the ideology or mentalit underlying nineteenth-cen56 tury judicial interpretation and legislation. A good survey of the problem, which is also suggestive of possibilities for further research is provided by the "Collectif Clio" 's L'histoire des 57 femmes au Quebec depuis quatre sitcles. Conclusion This survey illustrates that there is no unified field of research on Quebec legal history. Instead, there is a multiplicity of legal histories, each defined by the problems they pose and their methodology. Traditional legal scholars have instrumentalized the most venerable historical methods, chronology and source criticism, in a positivist quest for the sources of law. The identification of the origins of particular laws has typically been combined with doctrinal interpretation of sources such as cases, commentaries, codes and legislation. The most noteworthy work of this genre in Quebec is Brierley's study of the codification commission and Brisson's work on the evolution of nineteenth-century civil procedure. 54 Wives andProperty:Reform of the Married Women's PropertyLaw in Nineteenth-Century England (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983). 55See A. Morel, "La lib6ration de la femme au Canada: Deux itin6raires" (1970) 5 R.J.T. 399; J. Boucher, "'histoire de la condition juridique de la femme au Canada frangais" in Boucher & Morel, supra, note 23, 155; J. Douglas, "The Status of Women in New England and New France" (1912) 19 Queen's Q. 359; W.R. Riddell, "Woman Franchise in Quebec, A Century Ago" (1928) 22 Proc. & Trans. Royal Soe'y Can. (3d) Section II, 85; M. Jean, "UL'tat et les communautrs religieuses feminines au Quebec - 1639-1840" (1972) 6 Stud. Canon. 163; and S. Altshul & C. Carron, "Chronology of Some Legal Landmarks in the History of Canadian Women" (1975) 21 McGill L.J. 476. A rare study from a historical perspective is M.D. Castelli, "Le douaire en droit coutumier ou la deviation d'une institution" (1979) 20 C. de56D. 315. Backhouse's articles on criminal law are cited supra,note 31. See also her "Shifting Patterns in Nineteenth-Century Canadian Custody Law" in Flaherty, ed., supra, note 3, 212; "Pure Patriarchy: Nineteenth-Century Canadian Marriage" (1986) 31 McGill L.J. 264; "The Tort of Seduction: Fathers and Daughters in Nineteenth-Century Canada" (1986) 10 Dalhousie L.J. 45; and "'To Open the Way for Others of my Sex': Clara Brett Martin's Career as Canada's First Woman Lawyer" (1985) 1 Can. J. Women & L. 1. 57J. Stoddart et al., L'histoire desfemmes au Quebec depuis quatresicles (Montreal: Quinze, 1982). 1987] QUEBEC LEGAL HISTORIOGRAPHY But doctrinal interpretation implies that the meaning of law lies exclusively in legal texts. It implies that law is a self-contained language. The existence of law is a "given", and only the meaning of particular laws, their origins and the chronology of their refoms are in question. This positivist and doctrinal approach leaves unanswered questions for legal scholars and historians. Most of these questions concern the place of law within societies. Nevertheless, the doctrinal approach undoubtedly still serves as a steppingstone for social histories of the law. The combination of doctrinal knowledge with modern historical methods, which are often adapted from other social science disciplines, could result in social histories of law. One major trend in Quebec and Canadian legal history is the investigation of the ideology or mentalit of the law. Prominent examples are the studies of Andr6 Morel, Douglas Hay, Evelyn Kolish and Jean-Marie Fecteau. This approach is often combined with a concern for the social interests that particular intellectual positions support. A more ambitious approach in the social history of law is to study the material context and consequences of law. This has been attempted in studies of the activities of courts in New France by John Dickinson and Andr6 Lachance. Another study which relates law directly to its material context is Louise Dechene's investigation of seigneurial tenure on the Island of Montreal. Jean-Marie Fecteau's work attempts to link the criminal justice system to the modes of social regulation of Lower Canadian society. Numerous problems can arise in the course of attempting social histories of law. The role of law in shaping social behaviour can be exaggerated, or the influence of social factors on law can be overemphasized. A more serious problem is that some legal historians apply a socio-historical analysis without using the necessary conceptual and methodological tools to support their arguments. Law is both an intellectual and a material phenomenon.5 8 It is at once a series of discourses and a series of institutions. Law-as-discourse could be studied through the methods of intellectual history and semiotics, especially linguistics, as used in literary criticism.5 9 For example, the language of sub58 An interesting discussion, although about intellectual phenomena generally, is M. Godelier, "The Ideal in the Real" in R. Samuel & G.S. Jones, eds, Culture, Ideology and Politics:Essays for Eric Hobsbaivm (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982) 12. 59 For a discussion of intellectual history, see J.G.A. Pocock, "Introduction: The State of the Art" in J.G.A. Pocock, ed., Virtue, Commerce, and History: Essays on Political Thought and History, Chiefly in the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985) 1; KS. Abraham, "Statutory Interpretation and Literary Theory : Some Common Concerns of an Unlikely Pair" (1979) 32 Rutgers L.R. 676; S. Fish, "Working on the Chain Gang: Interpretation in Law and Literature" (1982) 60 Texas L.R. 739; Gordon, supra,note 3; and Monahan, supra, note 5. REVUE DE DROIT DE McGILL [Vol. 32 stantive law, doctrinal commentary and judicial interpretation could be analysed for its underlying conceptual elements and hidden assumptions. Legal rituals and norms could also be studied for their symbolic and ideological content. 60 But law also participates in the material relations that help to constitute society. Law-as-institution could be investigated from such diverse sociological perspectives as structuralism, functionalism and Marxism. 6' In short, we need more ambitious research, which asks pertinent and precise questions about the place of law within society, and which develops useful research methods and conceptual tools in an interdisciplinary fashion. 60 An example of such an approach is D. Hay, "Property, Authority and the Criminal Law" in 61 Hay et al, supra, note 25, 17. For a variety of viewpoints, see P.Vilar, "Histoire du droit, histoire totale" in Une histoire en construction:Approches marxistes et problmatiquesconjoncturelles(Paris: Gallimard, 1982) 265; D. Sugarman, "Theory and Practice in Law and History: A Prologue to the Study of the Relationship between Law and Economy from a Socio-Historical Perspective" in B. Fryer, et aL., eds, Law, State and Society (London: Croom Helm, 1981) 70; W.E. Forbath, H. Hartog & M. Minow, "Introduction: Legal Histories From Below" [1985] Wisc. L. Rev. 759.